David Sewall Wooding's Story.
David Sewell Wooding Deane was born in Barbados in approximately 1918 into a family with strong connections to the British colonial service.David was the son of Dr Frederick Gustave Wooding Deane, a British colonial surgeon, and Maud Gorringe Deane. Frederick had served with the RAMC in WW1 where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Lt Colonel Frederick Deane RAMC
The Deane family travelled to the Falkland Islands in 1920. The family arrived at Port Stanley on 19 August 1920 aboard the Orita, having sailed from Liverpool.His father served as Colonial Surgeon there. The family subsequently spent several years in the Falklands, where the children grew up and attended local schools.
David attended St Mary's School in 1923. By 1927 he was attending the Government School with his sisters.
In 1927 David’s father was dismissed from his position for improper collection of personal fees, mistreatment of patients and drunkenness. The Deane family left the Falklands on 9 April 1928, sailing aboard the Lagarto for Barbados. David attended the Harrison School in Barbados.
His father died in 1935 and David's mother, Maud Gorringe Deane (née Batson), died on 17 September 1940, aged 50, when the passenger liner SS City of Benares was torpedoed by the German submarine U-48. She had been working as a volunteer escorting children evacuated from UK during the Blitz to safety in Canada.
David enlisted in the RAF on 28th July 1942 and trained as a pilot possibly in Canada before being transferred to the UK where he attended the Service Pilot Training Unit ( SPTU) on 24th June to 18th July 1943( which he did not complete)at RAF Cark and 3 (P) AFU at RAF South Cerney before being assigned to 2 (O) AFU at RAF Millom in Cumberland where he flew Avro Ansons carrying Navigator trainees on training missions.
On 22nd September 1943 he was flying Avro Anson N9718 with 4 students on board when he crashed into the sea after attempting to land. He had been coming in to land when the ground flight controller fired a red flare to warn him not to land as due a change in wind direction aircraft were being directed to use a different runway. David appeared to try to pull up and go around but the aircraft stalled and crashed into the sea about a half mile offshore. The cause of accident was basically attributed to pilot error but was not conclusively determined as the aircraft sank and was not recovered. David was buried at Blacon Cemetery in Chester and is memorialized on the Barbados Cenotaph.
Accident Form 1
Accident Form 2
Accident Form 3
Barbados Cenotaph
Barbados Cenotaph WW2 panel
Research by Steve Merrill